Anisotropy resolved multidimensional emission spectroscopy (ARMES): A new tool for protein analysis

Structural analysis of proteins using the emission of intrinsic fluorophores is complicated by spectral overlap. Anisotropy resolved multidimensional emission spectroscopy (ARMES) overcame the overlap problem by the use of anisotropy, with chemometric analysis, to better resolve emission from different fluorophores. Total synchronous fluorescence scan (TSFS) provided information about all the fluorophores that contributed to emission while anisotropy provided information about the environment of each fluorophore. Here the utility of ARMES was demonstrated via study of the chemical and thermal denaturation of human serum albumin (HSA).     

脲和盐酸胍诱导的卵清溶菌酶分子去折叠过程中各稳定构象态的分布和过渡

以内源荧光光谱和荧光相图法研究了脲和盐酸胍诱导的卵清溶菌酶分子的去折叠过程,结果表明,当变性液中脲和盐酸胍的浓度分别约为4.0和3.0 mol/L时,卵清溶菌酶分子的去折叠过程均存在一个折叠中间态,这两个去折叠过程均符合"三态模型".在卵清溶菌酶分子"三态"去折叠过程的基础上,通过变性剂分子和卵清溶菌酶分子之间的缔合一...     

Calcium Ion-Induced Stabilization and Refolding of Agkisacutacin from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agkistrodon Acutus</Emphasis> Venom Studied by Fluorescent Spectroscopy

Agkisacutacin isolated from the venom of Agkistrodon acutus is a coagulation factor IX / coagulation factor X-binding protein with marked anticoagulant- and platelet-modulating activities. Ca²⁺ ion-induced stabilization and refolding of Agkisacutacin have been studied by following fluorescent measurements. Ca²⁺ ions not only increase the structural stability of agkisacutacin against GdnHCl denaturation, but also induce its refolding. The GdnHCl-induced unfolding of the apo-agkisacutacin and the purified agkisacutacin is a single-step process with no detectable intermediate state. Ca²⁺ ions play an important role in the stabilization of the structure of agkisacutacin. Ca²⁺-stabilized agkisacutacin exhibits higher resistance to GdnHCl denaturation than the apo-agkisacutacin. It is possible to induce refolding of the unfolded apo-agkisacutacin merely by adding 1 mM Ca²⁺ ions without changing the concentration of the denaturant. The kinetic result of Ca²⁺-induced refolding provides evidences for that agkisacutacin consists of at least two refolding phases and the first phase of Ca²⁺-induced refolding should involve the formation of the compact Ca²⁺-binding site regions, and subsequently, the protein undergoes further conformational rearrangements to form the native structure.     

新开花粉蛋白的盐酸胍去折叠过程

本文利用荧光光谱和园二色光谱了新开花粉蛋白的盐酸胍去折叠过程。结果显示：新开花粉蛋白的盐酸胍去折叠是一个只包含天然蛋白和变性终态的二态过程,与已经报道的天花粉蛋白的盐酸胍去折叠的过程不同。     

Time-resolved ESI-MS Investigation on Reduction and Alkylation in Unfolding Process of Lysozyme

The kinetic procedure of the unfolding of lysozyme induced by the reduction of disulfide was monitored by the time-resolved ESI-MS with a sheath liquid assistant electrospray interface. It was found that the reduction process for the eight disulfides had a less difference in the reaction time after denatured treatment. In addition, the alkylation of the reduced free thiols was much slower than the reduction procedure. An artifact peak produced by the CID fragmentation in the mass spectra was identified and the possible mechanism of the Hofmann elimination reaction was proposed.     

CYSP: A new cylindrical directional neutron spectrometer. Conceptual design

This communication describes in detail the design of a new cylindrical neutron spectrometer (CYSP) embedding 7 active thermal neutron detectors in a moderating structure made of polyethylene, borated plastic and lead. The device provides a strong directional response within the energy interval from thermal to hundreds of MeV, being nearly insensitive to neutrons coming from directions other than the cylinder axis with energies up to about 10 MeV. Therefore it will be especially suitable for applications where the neutron spectrum as a function of the emission angle needs to be measured. The Monte Carlo transport code MCNPX has been used to reach the final configuration for the spectrometer in terms of size, collimator, and arrangement of borated plastic and lead layers, number and position of the detectors. Moreover, MCNPX has been also used to calculate the response matrix of the instrument.     

Evolution of Conformation and Dynamics of Solvents in Hydration Shell along the Urea-induced Unfolding of Ubiquitin

A clear diagram for the unfolding of protein induced by denaturant is a classical but still unsolved challenge. To explore the unfolded conformations of ubiquitin under different urea concentrations, we performed hybrid Monte Carlo-molecular dynamics simulations (MC-MD) guided by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) structural information. Conformational ensembles sampled by the hybrid MC-MD algorithm exhibited typical 3D structures at different urea concentrations. These typical structures suggested that ubiquitin was subjected to a sequential unfolding, where the native contacts between adjacent β-sheets at first were disrupted together with the exposure of hydrophobic core, followed by the conversion of remaining β-strands and helices into random coils. Ubiquitin in 8 mol·L?1 urea is almost a random coil. With the disruption of native structure, urea molecules are enriched at protein hydrated layer to stabilize newly exposed residues. Compared with water, urea molecules prefer to form hydrogen bonds with the backbone of ubiquitin, thus occupying nodes of the hydrogen bonding network that construct the secondary structure of proteins. Meanwhile, we also found that the slow dynamics of urea molecules was almost unchanged while the dynamics of water was accelerated in the hydration shell when more residues were unfolded and exposed. The former was also responsible for the stabilization of unfolded structures.